Last view of the ZHP as she gets the suspension refresh completed. Turns out I had some rubbing with the Z4M FCABs which I'm attributing to a bad alignment so I'm hoping a fresh alignment will get things back into spec. Also getting my front passenger wheel straightened and repainted. Absolutely cannot wait to see what the refreshed e46 chassis is capable of.

Awesome work! Makes a huge difference. Did you ever get your headlight situation sorted out well?

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Yes I did, took it to the shop doing my suspension work and they got everything ligne up perfectly. Turns out I should have kept the mounting brackets loose to allow proper placement of the headlight housings then tighten everything down. Such a common sense solution that evaded me during the frustration of the install.

Originally Posted by fredo

This may be a good time to replace the steering coupler. I refreshed the suspension last month at 150k miles and included the steering coupler.

You are absolutely right, I did the guibo and the lower steering shaft joint a year or so ago and steering is tight.

It's done! The ZHP is slightly lowered on Bilstein B8s with H&R sport springs with all new supporting bushings.

Since the front passenger wheel was noticably bent, the shop had a guy they send wheels to straighten and refurb them for about $100. More on this later.

First impression: she's tight! Steering feels great, firm and precise. My goodness the Bilsteins are stiff. I had heard from multiple people that was going to be the case but I wanted to go with them anyway. Car feels almost what I'd imagine a 911 or similar sports car feels like suspension wise.

Unfortunately there's some issues.

1. I have been dealing with passenger side bent wheels for over a year now after a series of potholes impacts causing tire punctures on I-95. I had the rear wheel repaired and was still experiencing slight vibration at interstate speeds and horrible wheel wobble at about 85+ mph. After noticing an obviously bent front wheel, I was expecting a perfectly smooth ride after this recent repair. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Vibrations are definitely improves however I still get slight vibration at interstate speeds with worsening at 85+ mph. I can only assume that both attempts at straightening where done by eye and are not completely straight. At this point, I'm over these style 135s and plan on getting some Apex Arc 8s in the near future with replacement style 135s at a later date.

2. The suspension is absolutely wonderful when I'm around my parent's house in N. Georgia, where the roads are nice and curvy. Unfortunately, on my trip back down to Macon via I-75, I had to deal with poor interstate/road conditions in and around Atlanta and Macon. Here the Bilsteins are less than ideal and road imperfections are quite jarring. Honestly feels equal to or maybe even slightly worse than traveling on my original blown suspension.
Ultimately, I was looking to transition the ZHP out of daily driver duties in about a year or 2 so I think this is just going to accelerate that process.